Process of making gas



May 27, 1924. 1,495,776

R. H. BURDICK PROCESS OF MAKING GAS Filed Abril 18 1919 5 Sheets$heet l lrzveizz or A ar/lays May 27, 1924., 1,495,776

- R. H. BURDICK PROCESS OF MAKING GAS Filed April 18. 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 R. H. BURDICK PROCESS OF MAKING GAS Filed April 18, 1919 I5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented May 27, 1924.

REGINALD H. BURDICK, OF FLUSHING, NEW YORK,

PROCESS OF MAKING GAS.

Application filed April 18, 1919. Serial No. 291,006.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, REGINALD H; BURDICK, residing at Flushing, county of Queens, State of New York, have invented certain as new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Gas, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention which is set forth in this application and for which I now seek pro tection by Letters Patent is a continuous process for the conversion of carbonaceous substances, such as coal, into gases, vapors, tars. oils and other allied products. Primarily, the process is designed and especially adapted for the manufacture of city or illuminating gas, and as-such it will be de- 7 scribed, and its objects are to avoid the ob jections to and the heat and other losses incident to the processes for this purpose which have heretofore been practiced.

Stated in somewhat general terms, the improved process consists in subjecting finely subdivided or pulverized carbonaceous matter such as coal to the action of heat, generally in a specially constructed externally heated chamber or retort, preferably in the absence of atmospheric air, but in the presence of a catalyzing agent, steam and 2. current of gas which" is passed through the retort together with the finely divided carbon and the other agents.

In carrying out this process I may make use'of many different forms and kinds of apparatus, but I prefer to use an inclined retort with means at its upper end for delivering in measurable quantities dry and finely divided or pulverized coal together with a catalyzer, means for exhausting the air from this mixture before it enters the retort, and means for injecting steam and gas into the body of introduced material as soon as it comes into the retort. The mechanical action, particularly of the gas, which is introduced under a' certain pressure, is to carry or sweep the dust through the chamber, so that it comes into contact with the heated walls thereof. while the chemical actions and the effect of the destructive distillation is to convert a very large percentage of the solid carbonaceous matter into a vapor or gas.

At the lower end of the retort is a rece' tacle for ash with a water seal, and from t e space above this seal extends a conduit or passage for the generated gases-to the washers, purifiers and other devices commonly Fig; 2 is a substantially vertical diagraminatic view illustrating the same and the other elements of a complete system adapted for carrying out the invention, and

Fig. 3 is a'similar diagram illustrative of other features of the system.

In Fig. 1 a properly designed and constructed retort 1 is shown, which is, preferably, inclined as shown, and provided with the usual heat insulated spaces or compartments 2, for the circulation of hot gases, or other means for heating to the required temperature the walls of the retort 1. The upper end of the retort is closed and into retort leads a chute or conduit 3, into the top of which a suitable receptacle 4, delivers a mixture of pulverized coal and a catalyzer, such for example as lime. The chute 3 is provided with rotary valves 5-5, which permit the passage of the dust but precludes, to a sufficient extent for purposes of the invention, the passage of air. Between the two valves is a tube 6, leading to an exhaust apparatus 7, by the operation of which the air is withdrawn from the coal dust, which therefore proceeds to the retort under the influence of a partial vacuum.

Through the closed end.of the retort ass concentric or other tubes 8, one lea ing from a steam supply 26, the other from a reservoir 25 of gas under pressure, such gas being derived from the volume generated by the apparatus, if so desired. The combined steam and gas meet the falling dust and sweep it in a cloud through the retort and over the highly heated wall, with the result that the ash is carried through the retort and falls into the receptacle 11, provided therefor at the bottom of a vertical tube 12, with which-the lower end of the retort connects, while the generated gas and other products pass upward through the tube 12 to the washer 13 and thence to the drier 15 and other devices to be hereinafter described. For a full understanding of the invention no other apparatus used requires a more extended description, and the nature and scope of said invention may therefore be best set forth by reference to the other figures of the drawing in connection with a more detailed statement of operation.

The coal employed may be of any kind or grade or may be classified generally as any suitable carbonaceous material. I prefer to use lime as a catalyzer, but other reagents such as calcium, alumina, magnesia, silica, iron, nickel or copper have similar properties and may be used alone or in combination as experience and the requirements of the particular cases-may dictate. When lime is employed as the catalyzer it is fed in the proportion of from 5 to 50% by weight of coal, the exact percentage depending upon the characteristics of the coal employed. The

coal and lime should be dried. The steam, and if so desired the gas, should be raised to a high temperature, and the retort should be maintained at such a temperature as the products expected will demand. These are matters which are well understood in the art and call for nothing more than passing re-- mark.

The lime 50 and coal 60 are both crushed by a machine 14 and delivered at the proper rate into a drier 15, through or around which passes the stream of hot generated gas, and from which they pass to a pulverizer 16. From the latter the powder is passed to the retort 1 and there meets the jets of steam and gas and by the latter are carried through the retort. By the action of the heat and the reagents employed a very large proportion of the carbonaceous matter is driven off in a vapor or gas and it is then drawn from the washer 13 through or around the drier mainly by an exhaust apparatus 17, and thence passed on to the scrubber 18, the

'washer 19, the purifiers 20, and thence to the meter 21 and gas tank 22. Such part of the gas as maybe needed for heating the retort or for injection into the latter along with the steam is taken oif from the purifiers 20 to an anti-pulsator 23 and then passed through a meter 24 to the jets for the retort or through a compression device 25 to the steam and gas inlet 8.

The heat of the gas jets that is not absorbed by the retort walls is utilized to heat water in a boiler 26, and the steam from such boiler is carried to the retort inlet 8, to the compressor 25, to the exhauster 17, and to the pumps 27, which supply the water meagre for all the purposes for which it may be required, through the pipes indicated by the direction lines marked 28, in Fig. 3.

The direction lines 29 in Figs. 2 and 3 indicate the steam pipes and connections. The lines 30 in Fig. 2 indicate gas pipes and connections, and the lines 31 in Fig. v3 the pipes for exhaust steam.

By the proper and intelligent variation of the character, of the catalyzer, of the gas, of the pressures and other factors enumerated, the resulting products emanating from the heated retort may be kept under control to a marked degree and either a series of gases, or vapors, or tars, or oils with their allied products or a combination of any or all of them may be secured. By virtue of the fact that the process is continuous; that the direct heat losses common to present day commercial processes of this nature are reduced to a minimum; that what is commonly known in other processes as waste heat is utilized to the fullest practical extent; that the employment of a catalyzing agent makes for a higher yield of gases and vapors from F the carbonaceous material than would be the case without it; that the conditions of a partial atmospheric vacuum in the retort and flow of gases introduced from an outside source into it, reduce the vapor tension of the volatile constituents of the solid material under treatment, and that practically all of such material passed into the retort can be converted into combustible gases or vapors, a greater over all thermal efficiency is secured by this process than is to be found in any other commercially used carbonizing or gas process or apparatus of which I have any knowledge.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. The process of converting carbonaceous material into gases, oils and other allied products, which consists in introducing into a retort the solid material in a finely subdivided state, together with a catalyzing 1 agent, withdrawing the air therefrom during such introduction, and injecting steam and a gas into the body of line material within the retort and thereby driving 03 from the fine particles of carbonaceous matter its volatile constituents.

The process herein set forth, which consists in introducing powdered coal and a catalyzing agent in a dry state and from a partial atmospheric vacuum into a heated retort, injecting steam and a gas under pressure into the finely divided mixture and by such means carrying it through the retort, collecting the ash at the end of the retort and drawing or driving off the gaseous products to Washers or other such devices.

3. The process herein described, which consists in passing a mixture of pulverized coal and a catalyzing agent into a chamber, exhausting the air from said chamber, then passing the solid matter from said chamber into a heated retort, and injecting into it on its arrival in the retort steam and a gas under pressure.

4. The process herein described, which consists in introducing dry pulverized coal and lime into a heated retort, exhausting the air from the same as it is introduced, endinjecting steam and a gas as a carrying ve' hicle into the mixture as it enters the retort. a

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

REGINALD H. BURDICK. 

